Turner-Howson to close

Tuesday

Mar 12, 2013 at 3:00 PM

By Scott Brand

Turner-Howson Elementary School will be silent and empty when classes resume in the fall as the Rudyard Area Public School Board of Education voted 6-1 to move all students under one roof. Trustee Karen Sprague provided the lone opposition.

Faced with declining enrollment and a price tag of approximately $1 million to renovate the elementary school, the district began serious discussions on moving the younger students into the current home of the high school and middle school.

After a series of informational meetings, the school board opted to postpone its decision last month and await results from a survey of area residents before making a decision on Monday.

The results of the survey, it appears, were mixed — providing no clear direction for the trustees.

Rudyard will join many other Eastern Upper Peninsula School Districts in housing all of its students in one building when the first bell rings in the fall.

While the idea has apparently been considered in the past, it wasn’t until enrollment fell to around 750 students that it actually became feasible to make the move.

Preliminary plans call for bringing the younger students into the western end of the structure where separate eating facilities and offices will be maintained. Elementary students will still have access to the public library on the eastern end of the building with teachers escorting them down the hall while the older kids are in class.

With the decision to close Turner-Howson, the district will now be free to explore options for the building which could include the sale of the structure, should a buyer come forward, or boarding up the windows and doors with some roof work to prevent major leaks.

The trustees also appear willing to explore the sale of R.J. Wallis Elementary School — which has been vacant since its closure —and the 20 acre parcel it sits on through an auction.